


Fortune Favors the Bold (and the stupid)

by in_way_too_deep



Series: K.A.R. [1]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Dom/sub Undertones, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Polyamorous Relationships, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:14:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22619935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/in_way_too_deep/pseuds/in_way_too_deep
Summary: Magic is the way one day, one minute, one choice can change things forever. Instead of Ronan and Adam or Ronan and Kavinsky, it's all three of them. And in a way, it always had been.
Relationships: Joseph Kavinsky/Adam Parrish, Joseph Kavinsky/Ronan Lynch, Joseph Kavinsky/Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish, Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Series: K.A.R. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1319069
Comments: 9
Kudos: 45





	1. A gun, a locker, and a weird-ass Monday

**Author's Note:**

> I have more in progress, but it's early-on so Definitely let me know if there's something specific you want to see

Adam had stayed long after the final bell had rung, releasing everyone else. He hadn’t wanted to, but he needed the extracurriculars to bolster his resume. It wouldn’t matter to the Ivy Leagues whether or not he had time to sleep. If he couldn’t compete with his classmates, then everything would have been for naught. He couldn’t just do well either; no, he had to do better than everyone else at Aglionby. He had to be the best because he knew without a shadow of a doubt that, without a scholarship, he wouldn’t be able to go anywhere, let alone to one of the top ten universities.

He walked on autopilot to his locker, but upon arriving realized he must have been even more stressed than he’d imagined. Never before had it gotten to the point of non-Cabsewater induced hallucinations, but he guessed there was a first time for everything. Besides, there was no other explanation for why he was seeing Ronan and Kavinsky arguing in front of his locker. Nothing else would make any damn sense given that Ronan never stayed at school longer than absolutely necessary and Kavinsky barely went to school at all.

The only realistic aspect of the scenario was that they were arguing viciously (and blocking Adam’s locker). With a shake of his head Adam tried to clear his vision, but when he opened his eyes they were still there. The only change was that they were staring at him, clearly waiting for him to say something. He started as simply as he could. “What’s going on?”

Ronan raged, “Kavinsky left a gun in your locker! That’s what’s going on!”

Adam was aware of the gun and he was livid. If it had been found he could have not only been expelled, but also arrested. For some reason, however, it was Ronan’s intervention that got to him. “How do you know that?”

Kavinsky answered, “He was going through your locker.” With a glare, Kavinsky turned to Ronan and hissed, “Read the fucking note too.”

That got Ronan going, “I was just trying to leave him something and you fucking-”

Adam interrupted him. “Stop.” Kavinsky looked too smug so he turned to him and said, “Both of you.” Adam was then faced with two, very unimpressed glares. Any lesser man would have been paralyzed at the combined attention of Joseph Kavinsky and Ronan Lynch, but Adam had never been lesser. To Kavinsky he said, “You could have gotten me expelled or arrested. I don’t care what sort of pity gesture you were trying to do – you fucked up. You really fucked up. _You’re_ fucked up.” He then focused on Ronan, not giving Kavinsky a chance to retort. “And _you_ need to let me handle my life. You are not the boss of me, and no one said you get to take care of me.”

Adam almost felt guilty at both of their expressions, but he held his ground. Ronan wore a face of poorly concealed hurt and embarrassment, but it was Kavinsky’s searching gaze, the one that begged to be understood, that was the most difficult to stand. Of course, it was replaced with a sneer in a moment, all traces of vulnerability gone as he lashed out at Ronan, “I told you to mind your fucking business.”

And because Ronan was no more emotionally evolved than Kavinsky he took the bait. “My friends _are_ my business. Maybe you’d get that if you had any.”

Now, Adam was no psychic – he was a magician, but he couldn’t predict the future – but it didn’t take a lick of clairvoyance for him to see where they were headed. Even though he’d only seen them interact once or twice, he knew neither of them would back down. They’d go in circles until they started throwing punches. And he still hadn’t gotten into his locker.

It was all more than Adam was mentally able to deal with on a Monday. When he felt a migraine come on at their continued shouting, he groaned. He tried to be good, he always did, but he was no saint. The words he said were meant to hurt but, at the same time, he had no clue where they came from. Really, he hadn’t meant to speak at all, but when he touched his hand to his temple to massage away the headache, his mouth opened, and words just came out. “Goddamnit. Just make-out and shut up already _._ Some of us have things to do.”

They went silent and Kavinsky said, in a terrifyingly chilled voice, “What the fuck did you just say?”

Adam wasn’t fazed. He still hadn’t gotten into his locker and he was determined. The shrug he gave was as much a show of apathy as an affirmation that he wasn’t going to take the words back.

Ronan growled at Kavinsky. “Don’t talk to him like that.”

Instead of responding to Ronan directly, Kavinsky turned to Adam and purred, “You just want to watch, don’t you, princess?” He shot a quick look to Ronan, obviously checking how the re-appropriation of his nickname landed. The reaction he’d won must have satisfied him because, like a cat who caught the canary, he turned back to Adam to see what other prizes he could reap. “Well?”

Adam just quirked an eyebrow, calling his bluff, and Ronan’s jaw dropped.

Ronan asked, seriously, “Are you fucking with us?”

Adam was surprised by the genuineness of the question he could decipher beneath the veneer of anger. Still, he just crossed his arms and pursed his lips, refusing to be pulled into something.

Kavinsky saw the staunch refusal to participate and took it as a challenge. He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head, like a velociraptor searching for the killing bite before saying, “only one way to find out,” and grabbing Adam by his shoulders. 

Adam didn’t like the abruptness of it all, the lack of opportunity to say yes or no, but he hadn’t been bluffing. And even he couldn’t deny that he did very much like what Kavinsky was doing with his tongue. He could feel something in him, something he might have called will-power or self-restraint, break. It splintered into shards and fell to the ground around him as he kissed Joseph Kavinsky back in the middle of Aglionby’s hallway.

More surprising was the fact that Kavinsky didn’t stop when Adam reciprocated the attention. Adam hadn’t planned any of it – and he had little to no experience – but when Kavinsky started shoving and tugging him too roughly, something unknown in him took control.

With little thought he shoved Kavinsky away so firmly that his back hit the locker, but before Kavinsky could comment on the supposed rejection, Adam surged forward and attacked his lips. He put his hands on both sides of Kavinsky’s head, bracketing him in.

They eventually broke apart to breathe and though Kavinsky tried to hide it, Adam could see how hard his chest rose and fell. Kavinsky said saccharinely sweet, as if mocking Adam, “It’s like that is it, baby?” but Adam didn’t give an inch.

He leaned down and whispered in Kavinsky’s ear, “You may hate it, but you want to be controlled.” He let his Henrietta drawl come out as he continued, “Don’t‘cha?”

Kavinsky froze, but the blush on his cheeks let Adam know it was because he was only because he was suppressing a shiver. The surge of power he gained from the knowledge that he made Joseph fucking Kavinsky blush with nothing more than his lips and words was otherworldly. It was almost frightening how strongly it flowed through him, like a river of electricity through his veins.

In a wild twist of events, what had at first been a normal Monday had turned into him learning just how overwhelming and unexpectedly intoxicating Kavinsky was. What had started as a taunt, a dare, was turning Adam inside out, into something other than pre-Cabsewater Adam, something other than post-Cabsewater Adam, just something Other. He stared at Kavinsky’s face, trying to find answers in his reddened lips and gorgeous pitch-black hair, but Ronan’s voice broke through to him before he could solve anything.

It was nothing more than a soft, “fuck”, but it caught both Adam and Kavinsky’s attention immediately. Kavinsky was the first to react, but that wasn’t a surprise. He always seemed to be unnaturally attuned to Ronan. And, while it was clear to anyone with a brain that Kavinsky was obsessed with Ronan, it was _Adam_ he put his lips against, and it was _Adam_ he told to “go show Lynch he doesn’t have to be jealous.” He looked up at Adam through his eyelashes, a look that should have been bashful, but was nothing short of devious, and said, “I can share my toys.” 

That caused Other Adam to put his hand around Kavinsky’s throat lightly and growl, “If anyone’s the toy here, it’s you.” When Kavinsky’s pupils dilated to twice their size, he knew he’d again read Kavinsky accurately. It was both thrilling and mortifying. He didn’t know who he was becoming, and he couldn’t decide whether he loved or hated it.

Ronan stopped his introspection by walking up and pulling him away from Kavinsky. He locked eyes with Adam and said, “Are you fucking with me or are you fucking with him?”

Ronan had clearly meant it as an either-or, but to Adam it was a false dichotomy. He had been denied so much for so long that he was _starving_. Once, Adam had thought his mortal sin was Wrath, or at least Pride, but now he knew it was Gluttony. He wanted both. He didn’t know why he couldn’t have both, why he couldn’t have it his way for just once. “No.”

Ronan started to ask, “Wha-”, but Adam interrupted him with a kiss. It started off slow and gentle, Adam telling Ronan there was no lie in what was going on, but it gained speed. Like the ocean it swelled, crested, and crashed just to start again. And just like the ocean he got swept away. His hands found Ronan’s shirt and Ronan’s hands found his waist. When they broke apart, they rested their heads together, but Adam saw Kavinsky in his peripheral and saw an explosion waiting to happen.

Though he’d only known him for about two minutes, he could see right through him, and it was clear Kavinsky’s head was filled with so many warring thoughts and emotions that he felt nothing and everything simultaneously. For a moment, Adam looked back at Ronan, communicating things his mind couldn’t process enough to send to his mouth, until he finally said, “You better go deal with Kavinsky before he kills somebody.”

Adam then helped a dumb-struck Ronan by shoving him into Kavinsky. Kavinsky, however, was a self-sabotaging idiot, and shoved Ronan away, as he said, “Fuck off, Lynch.”

Ronan, who knew better, just got closer to Kavinsky until they were nose-to-nose and snarled “Make me, Kavinsky.”

There was a moment of intense, angry breathing, before Ronan and Kavinsky were suddenly attacking each other’s mouths. A tangle of indistinguishable limbs and violence, they could have been fighting, but they were just as clearly devouring one another. The raw passion hit Adam like a punch to the gut. When Ronan put his hand on Kavinsky’s throat, as if to choke him, Kavinsky grabbed his wrist, but didn’t remove it. Instead he just squeezed tightly enough to leave bruises and red imprints of his fingernails that wouldn’t leave anytime soon. 

At the image, Adam felt himself getting far too interested, for a public setting and suddenly remembered where they were. He interjected, “Wait” but they ignored him. Realizing they were both too dumb and distracted to listen to him, he stepped forward and put a hand on both their chests, shoving them apart. “Wait. We’re at school. _In public_.” 

They both paled and looked around, only deflating when they realized no one was there.

Kavinsky was the first to break. “Fuck! What the fuck are we doing?”

Ronan looked at Kavinsky with dangerous eyes, filled with gasoline and fire, but didn’t back down. “We’re getting in my car and going to the Barns.” He leaned forward and sneered, “Unless you’re pussying out.”

Kavinsky shoved him violently, “Not on your life, Lynch.”

Ronan then turned to Adam with a silent question and Adam nodded. It was probably a stupid, irresponsible thing to do, but with all the seriousness going on Adam deserved some stupid.

Without another word Ronan turned on his heels and stormed out.

Kavinsky caught up to him just to start bitching. “Why, the fuck, do you get to drive? Can your P.O.S. car even get us there?”

Ronan ignored him completely, continuing to get to his car and unlock it. Kavinsky continued bitching him out the whole way, continuing even as he got into the car, but Adam just huffed out a laugh. He was pretty sure Ronan had just played Kavinsky like a pro and Kavinsky was none the wiser.

When he reached the car, Kavinsky pulled him away from the passenger seat and into the back. Like a spoiled child, he said, “Nuh-uh. If Lynch gets to drive, I get you.”

Ronan glared at Kavinsky in the mirror but took off as soon as Adam closed the door. Kavinsky kissed Adam suddenly and because, for some dumb reason Adam had believed he’d just been talking trash, he was surprised. The surprise dissipated and was quickly replaced by something else as Other Adam returned.

He only noticed he’d pushed Kavinsky down and lied on top of him when he heard the BMW screech to a halt at the barns. Within a few seconds, Ronan had grabbed Adam from the car and pushed him against the door, kissing him without pause. Adam could see Ronan’s lidded eyes searching out Kavinsky in what was clearly a competition, and he felt like he was supposed to be upset by the idea that he was a pawn in their game, but he wasn’t. They were all doing some odd courtship but, in the end, Adam felt in control, and that was enough.

It was more than enough when Kavinsky appeared on his other side and started kissing his throat. At first it was surprisingly sweet and gentle, but it had just been to catch him off guard with a sharp bite. Adam hissed, breaking the kiss, and Ronan looked at Kavinsky with narrowed eyes. “I thought you said you could share well.”

Kavinsky just growled in response, but Ronan maneuvered him until he was back down on the hood of the BMW and said, “You better learn quick.”

Adam had a sudden, vicious understanding of why racing was foreplay for them.

Kavinsky opened his mouth to reply but Ronan just took the opportunity to shove his tongue down his throat. Other Adam watched intently, but he couldn’t stay away long. Without thinking of it he joined them by the front of the car and threaded his hands through Kavinsky’s crazy soft hair. He wanted to wash the product out just to see how much softer it could be.

Again, he only realized he was tugging at Kavinsky hair when he moaned. Ronan responded blasphemously, “God,” and Kavinsky managed to get out a smug, “If I’m your God, you better be a good Christian and get on your knees.”

Ronan grabbed Kavinsky’s tie and pulled him up to his face. “I’m a Catholic you Russian fuck.”

Kavinsky’s eyes said a slyly impressed, ‘Well played,’ but his mouth said, “You saving yourself for _Jee-sus?”_

He looked at Kavinsky intently for a solid minute before looking at Adam and back again, weighing the pros and cons of eternal damnation. With a shove he pushed away from Kavinsky and wiped his hands off on his pants, like he was ready to drop everything, but he just said, “Fuck it,” and walked into the house.

Kavinsky whistled and looked at Adam with a quirked eyebrow. “Well?”

Adam looked at him with a preternatural knowingness, an eerie focus. “I decided an hour ago.”

Kavinsky looked back in suspicious consideration. “Decided what?”

Adam didn’t respond, just turned and followed Ronan. Kavinsky shouted after him, “Decided what, Parrish?” but Adam ignored him. He was rewarded for his decision when Kavinsky quickly followed him into the house, much like he had Ronan.

When Kavinsky reached him, he asked again, “Decided _what_?” Adam continued ignoring the question and walked into the living room where Ronan sat, legs spread, and arms stretched across the back of the couch insolently.

Kavinsky didn’t let up. “I swear to God Parrish, if you don’t tell me I’ll lose my fucking mind.”

“You haven’t already?”

Kavinsky hissed, “Fuck you.”

In response Adam just said, “I think you’d rather _we_ fuck _you_.” He then pushed Kavinsky into Ronan’s lap and stood in front of them. As Ronan pulled Kavinsky to sit on his lap, ignoring his protests about being manhandled, and began nipping at his ear, Adam asked, “Am I wrong?”

Through clenched teeth Kavinsky said, “Fuck. You.”

Ronan huffed and buried his face in Kavinsky’s shoulder, laughing. Kavinsky tried to shove off him angrily, but Ronan just tightened his grip and said, “Thought you weren’t gonna pussy out.”

Adam then walked in between Ronan’s legs, and stared Kavinsky in the eyes, “If you don’t want this, just say the word. No one’s forcing anyone here. That’s not going to be how it works.”

“Fuck you.”

“That’s not a yes.”

Kavinsky snarled, “It’s not a no.”

Adam repeated stubbornly. “It’s not a yes.”

“Ughh.” Kavinsky threw an arm over his eyes but said angrily, “Yes. Fucking yes. Shut the fuck up.”

Adam then did as requested by kissing Kavinsky thoroughly as Ronan devoted himself to Kavinsky’s neck like it was his life’s purpose. It lit Adam and Other Adam both completely aflame. Immolation by desire. The sweetest sort of destruction.


	2. The End or The Beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is taking forever to update, but I plan to keep coming back to it sporadically. Thanks for dealing with my lack of any ability to meet writing deadlines I set for myself.

Three hours later they were lying on Ronan’s king size bed, half-dead, and Kavinsky said for the second time. “What the fuck are we doing?”

Ronan chewed on his bracelets viciously. “I have no fucking clue.”

Adam turned away from them and stared out the window for a little too long before flipping back around and looking at them intently. “Why can’t we have this? Why can’t we date? It’s not like it’s rocket science.” He thought of all the couples he knew, from the horrible to the beautiful, and yearned for that something. Something other, something more. “Everyone else gets to.”

They both looked at him like he was crazy, but he wasn’t crazy, just determined.

“I’m serious. There’s so much we can’t have. Why can’t we just have this one thing?”

His voice cracked on the last words and Ronan’s façade melted. “How the hell would this fucking work? How the fuck would _we_ all work?”

Kavinsky sat up and put his head in his hands.

As usual, it was Kavinsky that caused Ronan’s spine to straighten and his resolve to strengthen. With a combative nudge, Ronan said, “You do stupid crazy fucked up suicidal shit all the damn time. Don’t pretend like this would be worse than any of that. It’s fucking nothing compared to that shit.”

“It’s fucking emotions, Lynch!”

Adam echoed Ronan’s earlier statement with a simple, “You better learn pretty quick then.” Kavinsky groaned and flopped back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling but didn’t object.

It had been decided. Maybe it was the stupidest most dangerous decision any of them had made in a while, but it was already too fucking late. Something had been put in motion that they couldn’t stop. Like a boulder rolling down a hill or a rollercoaster at its peak, denying it wouldn’t change anything.

Adam gave Kavinsky a break for a half-hour, but just before he was about to fall asleep, he said, “I’m gonna need a positive affirmation.”

Kavinsky understood him but was forever an obnoxious asshole. “You did great babe. Don’t worry, I couldn’t even tell you were a virgin.”

Adam was unimpressed. “If we’re doing this there’s gonna be rules.”

Kavinsky sat up, disgusted. The blanket pooled down around his hips and Adam saw Ronan’s eyes catch on the exposed skin and had to work hard to not be distracted. He was not successful enough to keep Kavinsky from noticing and grinning cockily. “See something you like?”

Adam rolled his eyes and said, “Not likely,” before shoving him back down and crawling on top of him, sitting up on his lap as Kavinsky leaned back against the pillows. “Rules.”

Kavinsky sighed but relented with an annoyed roll of his eyes. “I’m not good with rules.”

“I’ll keep it simple then.”

“Oh, you piece of shi-”

Adam interrupted him firmly, “Quiet when I’m talking.” He knew it only worked because of the fact that they were in bed and Adam was on top of him, but he was going to milk it for all it was worth, while he had the chance.

Kavinsky swallowed and went quiet. Adam hadn’t expected him to be so reactive, but he was eons away from complaining. Ronan’s clenched jaw said he felt similarly.

“One, no others; no sex, no kissing, no anything. Two, if we’re doing this it’s all three of us equally, nothing else. Three, no messing with my jobs or school” He turned to Ronan with a raised eyebrow and said, “That goes for you too.”

Ronan objected, “Hey!” but Kavinsky spoke over him, “Fucking rules? What the hell is this? Fucking prison?”

Adam narrowed his eyes, and asked, scarily calm, “Which do you have a problem with?”

“The rule part.”

“Which. Do. You. Have. A. Problem. With.”

He let out a huge groan and stared up at the ceiling before finally replying bitterly, aware he couldn’t find a reasonable objection to any of them. “Fine, but I’m still going to deck Lynch if he says some stupid shit.”

Ronan shrugged in agreement and said, “Same.”

Adam pursed his lips in dislike but didn’t argue. He figured it was the best he could ask for. Honestly, he couldn’t believe he’d already gotten Ronan and Kavinsky to agree to a monogamous relationship at all, let alone one with boundaries and rules. He was starting to feel like he had magical superpowers or was in a coma, hallucinating.

Kavinsky still looked wildly pissy, so Adam leaned down and said breathily, but loud enough for Ronan to hear, “One last rule.” The nearly sent Kavinsky into a rage, but Adam made sure to speak before he could start ranting, “If we go harder, you’re going to need a safe word.”

Kavinsky’s pupils dilated again, but he pretended he was unaffected. “Fuck a fucking safe word. I don’t need your fucking safe space.”

Ronan leaned over him, next to Adam and said, with a vicious smirk, “You will with what I have planned.”

Kavinsky’s breathing increased and he gave up the ruse. “Oh fuck.”

Adam nodded and said, “So, safe word?”

Kavinsky looked away but responded, “Fine.”

Ronan asked, “What are you picking?”

With a glare Kavinsky said, “I’m not fucking picking. One of you fuckers are.”

Adam teased, “I thought you wanted to do what we asked.”

Kavinsky shoved him, and said, “fuck off,” but Adam just rubbed his chest and waited.

“Trash.”

Adam wanted to ask but he knew better to push his luck, especially with how sensitive Kavinsky was being. “Alright. Sounds good to me. What about you Ronan?”

“Works for me.”

Kavinsky threw an arm over his forehead and breathed heavily, “I’m gonna pass the fuck out.”

Adam could feel his heart racing at an alarming speed, but he remained calm and shushed him, “Shh. We’re not doing anything else tonight.”

Kavinsky took a deep breath but Adam could feel him relax. It made him realize just how truly fragile Joseph was. Kavinsky was something else entirely, but when they put in the excruciating effort to remove his barriers, they found an attention starved, scared and small creature. That realization was the most terrifying of all. Adam was too young to take on so much responsibility.

He looked over and exchanged a look with Ronan and saw him thinking the same thing, but when they both looked back at Kavinsky, they realized they had both had many, less rewarding, responsibilities for much longer. Besides, there was a thin line between terrifying and exciting. 

Of course, it would be a bitch and a half to learn who Kavinsky was and who Joseph was (not to mention, how to handle either of them), but it was a thrilling prospect. Like Gansey’s Welsh king, learning Joseph was a quest, one just for them.

Kavinsky began shaking, at the newness of everything. It was probably the most vulnerability he’d ever shown, and it had been going on for (as he would put it) a long ass time. Adam couldn’t even begin to imagine what was racing through his mind, but he figured Kavinsky couldn’t parse it out from his miasma of emotions either. 

So instead of addressing it, Adam just laid down on him completely and Ronan snuggled in from the other side, just as intuitive as Adam. It worked wonders – miracles – and soon enough Kavinsky was asleep, but Adam wasn’t tired, and when he looked over, Ronan was wide awake as well.

They exchanged looks, conversing silently for a long while, before Ronan braved speaking quietly. “What the fuck have we started?”

“I don’t know.” Adam looked down at Kavinsky. “Nothing. Everything.”

“Is this the end or beginning?”

“Both?”

Ronan hummed in agreement and commented, “I shouldn’t feel like I do.”

“Gay?”

Ronan glared at him, “No, asshat.” He tapped Adam’s chest. “That.”

Adam nodded. He knew what he meant. Everything was going at warp speed. Just hours ago, they’d been virtual strangers and now they’d slept together and were in a relationship. All Adam could do was wryly joke, “I know gay relationships supposedly go quicker, but I didn’t expect _this._ ”

Ronan laughed, sharp but quiet, “Who _the fuck_ could have expected _this_?”

“Good point.”

Ronan sighed. “He’s a fucking asshole.”

“I know.”

“A wreck.”

“Yeah.”

“He’s a druggie. A degenerate thief and a fucking criminal. He does awful shit. All the damn time.”

Adam’s lips turned downwards. He felt like a terrible person for thinking it, but he didn’t care. It felt good and he was finally going to be selfish, world be damned.

Ronan continued through Adam’s silence, “So why do I want to protect him so damn bad?”

Adam huffed, “Because you’re an idiot?”

Ronan looked at him judgmentally, “You don’t feel the same?”

“I didn’t say that.” Ronan continued dolling out his judgmental look, so Adam added on, “We’re both idiots.” He looked down at Kavinsky and corrected himself, “We’re _all_ idiots.”

After his smoker’s breathing, Ronan groaned, “God, I’m going to hell.”

“Sorry?”

“Don’t be.” Ronan’s grin was sharp and shark-like, “I’d rather go to hell for this than anything else.”

Adam sighed worriedly, “We’re going too fast.”

Ronan sighed back. “I know.”

“Should we stop it? Slow down?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” He looked between Kavinsky and Ronan a few times before saying wryly, “We’re not going to, are we?”

“No.” Ronan cocked his head at Adam and said, “But you’ve always been a crafty motherfucker. You’ll get us out of whatever shit this gets us in.”

Adam didn’t like the implication that they would inevitably add chaos to the world by moving so quickly, but he wasn’t wrong. “Yay. More work.”

Ronan rolled his eyes, “We’ll help, asshat.”

Adam looked at him with a skeptical eyebrow, “We?”

Ronan huffed, “Yeah.” He looked at him with something soft hiding in the shape of his lips, “He’s all front. Trust me.”

Adam looked down at the sleeping, pretty boy under him and said, “Yeah, I’m starting to see that.”

Ronan then groaned and Adam looked at him curiously, causing him to elaborate. “Gansey.”

Adam paled. “Shit.”

“Maybe.” Ronan paused, he obviously didn’t want any more secrets, but some secrets made themselves. “Maybe we don’t tell him. For now.”

“For now.” Adam nodded. “Let’s just figure us out first. If it lasts, we’ll tell him.”

“Yeah. If it lasts.” Somehow his words were depressing and hopeful at the same time. Ronan Lynch was a paradox as much as Joseph Kavinsky was a buried soul.

“Are we crazy?”

“Definitely.”

“Then why am I not freaking out?”

Ronan’s eyes said he had the same question, but he had an answer, nonetheless. “Maybe because Kavinsky’s stolen all the freaking out for himself.”

That forced a loud, genuine laugh out of Adam. It woke Kavinsky up, bringing him from half-asleep to fully awake in point five seconds. “What the fuck. I thought it was a dream.”

Ronan looked at him sideways. “What sort of dreams are you having, Kavinsky?”

“None of your damn business, Lynch.”

At that Adam realized they probably had to fill Kavinsky in on the Glendower search. Unfortunately, Kavinsky was too sharp to miss Adam’s micro-expression. He narrowed his eyes, “What are you hiding?”

“Nothing.”

Kavinsky’s eyes narrowed further, “Bullshit.”

“Drop it.”

“Come on, Adam.” Despite the venom in his voice, his eyes said he was more hurt than angry, and it was the first time Kavinsky had used his first name outside of sex. Granted there hadn’t been many opportunities, but it still felt significant.

Adam crumbled and looked at Ronan. “Glendower.”

Ronan groaned and deflated in stress but sat up and said, “Fine.”

Kavinsky sat up and looked between them rapidly. “What? Dick’s dead king?”

Adam scooted back and sat, cross-legged on the bed finishing the circle Ronan and Kavinsky created. “We have something to tell you. About dreaming.”

Kavinsky said, “fine”, but he reached over the side of the bed for his pants. Upon retrieving them he pulled a cigarette and lighter out of his pocket and lit up without asking. After the first hit he said, “Let me have it.”

Ronan scowled and Adam said, “Put that out.”

Kavinsky blew smoke in Adam’s face and remained difficult, “No.”

“I’m not getting lung cancer cause of your bad decisions.”

“That’s bullshit.”

Adam didn’t reply, but obviously wasn’t going to budge. Picking up on that and not necessarily wanting to be kicked out right away, Kavinsky rolled his eyes and let out a dramatic sigh but took the cigarette out from between his lips. “Fine.”

He then put it out on his wrist and Ronan hissed at the sight. “Is that self-harm or are you just that much of a masochist?”

“You mean would I rather you hurt me?” Kavinsky laughed and asked, “Why? You offering?”

Ronan just put on a scowl but didn’t respond. The heated look in his eyes gave him away though and Adam spoke quickly to avoid them being pulled off topic. “Glendower.”

At the matching looks of irritation, they wore Adam had to suppress a chuckle. He moved on before either could say something cutting and said, “He’s not dead, he’s sleeping.”

“That what your mommy told you when your dog died?” 

Ronan glared, “This is serious shit. Cabeswater is dying.”

“Cabeswater?”

“The dream forest.”

“Thank-god.” Ronan and Adam exchanged a bitter look, so Kavinsky elaborated. “It’s almost killed me so many times.”

Ronan said, “It’s how we dream,” at the same time as Adam said, “It’s sentient.”

Kavinsky pointed to Adam and said, “Explain.”

Ronan answered for him, “Adam made a deal with the forest. He’s its eyes and hands.”

“A forest.”

“Yes.”

“And I thought _I_ was insane.”

“It’s real. It’s all real.”

“So what?”

Adam replied evenly, “Gansey died on the ley line and he was brought back to life and told to find Glendower. Now, if we don’t get Glendower’s favor, he will die this year.”

Kavinsky paused with narrowed eyes but only said, “Anything else?”

Ronan replied, “People are looking for the Greywaren.”

“They grey what?”

Adam filled in the blanks. “Ronan made the forest, he’s the Greywaren. His dad was also a dreamer, he sold dream things and now people are looking for what he said can bring anything out of a dream.”

“Dreamers. People are looking for dreamers?”

“Yes.”

“Here in Henrietta?”

“Yes. The ley lines give off a powerful energy signal.”

Ronan added on, “The gray man took some of the heat off us, but it’s not over.”

“The grey man?”

Adam responded before Ronan had to, “The hit man who killed Ronan’s dad, but he’s on our side. He’s dating Blue’s mom.”

“Blue?”

“Blue Sargent.”

“Who?”

Ronan said, “the psychics’ daughter,” at the same time as Adam said, “Gansey’s girlfriend.”

Kavinsky bit at his nails before saying, “So, hit men, magic trees, and impending death and doom?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” said Adam.

Kavinsky glared at them. “And you were leaving me out of it?”

Ronan shrugged, “We didn’t trust you.”

That just served to piss Kavinsky off even more, “And now that we fucked, you do?”

Adam responded before Ronan could, “I just figured you’d want this more than that.”

“This?” Kavinsky hissed.

Adam let his voice go cold. “I can see right through you, Kavinsky. All you want, all you’ve ever wanted, is to be loved.”

Kavinsky flinched but didn’t let go of his anger. “No. All I ever want is to be entertained.”

Ronan looked at him like a spear tip on his throat. “You’d throw away a relationship with Adam and me over some horseshit pride thing?”

“What the fuck? I haven’t thrown shit away, Lynch.”

“Then just admit you want this.”

Kavinsky growled, “I want it so much I hate it. I hate you.”

Ronan ignored what he said and asked, “So, we can trust you?”

Kavinsky laughed, something savage and manic. “Yeah, sure, it’s your fucking funeral.” He put his fingers back to his mouth again, though, and forcefully changed the subject. “So, where’s this damn king?”

With a sarcastic snort, Ronan said, “If we knew, why would we still be looking, dipshit?”

“Fuck you.”

Adam, once again, responded before their conversation could devolve any further, “We think he’s in Henrietta. We’re checking it out.”

“Okay, but what does that have to do with me?”

Ronan said, “If we’re dating, we’re gonna tell each other shit, ass-face.”

“I told you I was shit at relationships, bitch, what did you expect?”

“You never said shit.”

“It was implied.”

“Guys.” Adam’s interjection hadn’t ended their staring contest, but Adam persisted. “I have to go to work soon.”

Ronan just sighed but Kavinsky looked at Adam like he’d grown another head. “What?”

“Work.” Adam’s jaw clenched but he managed to respond without biting anyone’s head off.

“What fucking car shop is open this late?”

Adam rolled his eyes, but he was grateful Kavinsky at least knew of the concept of work. “I have a factory job.”

“Very Eight Mile of you.” Kavinsky then tilted his head and asked, “But how’re you getting there without your car?”

Adam cursed mentally but Ronan rolled his eyes and shoved Kavinsky. “I’m driving him, idiot.”

Kavinsky huffed, but stood and put his clothes back on. “Well, that’s my cue ladies. I’ll see you at school tomorrow. Or not.”

He then turned and walked out the door without another glance, but Adam spoke loudly, confident Kavinsky could hear them even as he walked away, “When do you think he’ll remember his car isn’t here either?”

Kavinsky’s groan was loud and unduly dramatic, but he returned and toed his shoes off. He ignored the bed though and walked out onto the balcony. Without closing the door, he lit a joint and looked out into the night. He eventually turned around and told Ronan, “You better hurry if you want me to have any for you when you get back.”

Ronan looked at Adam out of the corner of his eyes, but it was obvious to all of them that he was more than tempted. Adam sighed but relented. “It’s fine. I’m ready now.” With a nod, Ronan got dressed and gathered his keys. Instead of goodbye he told Kavinsky, “If you fuck up my house while I’m gone, I will kill you.”

There was a light in Kavinsky’s eyes that glinted off the knife’s edge of his smirk. “Kinky.”

Ronan growled, but Adam preempted him and just said, “Stop baiting him, Kavinsky,” and dragged Ronan out of the room by his wrist.

He went with him willingly at first, but when Kavinsky’s taunting voice, saying, “Fabric’s not flammable, right Lynch?” reached them he tensed, and Adam had to put serious effort into getting him to the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and let me know if there's anything you want to see in the next sections!

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thanks for reading and tips, comments, suggestions, requests, and the like are welcome!


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